One Hot Summer

by Heidi McLaughlin

  “I am, but that’s temporary until I figure out what I’m going to do with the house and everything.”

  “Would you sell it?” Donovan was shocked she wouldn’t want to keep the house; it was stunning and extremely valuable.

  Riley started shifting her weight back and forth, and looked uncomfortable. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I haven’t figured anything out yet.”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry. It’s none of my business. But you should stay for a bit, Port Henry is a wonderful place to spend the summer if you can. Plus, the beach is good for thinking,” he said, offering her a warm smile.

  “Thank you, Doctor. I’m so sorry I took up so much of your time with a dog that eats shoes. Come on, Scrappy,” she said to the dog. Scrappy looked up at her, getting excited again. His tail began to wag feverishly again, and his front paws came up and down off the floor, just enough to let them know he wanted to jump on her, but was restraining himself.

  “Do you need a ride home?” Donovan asked, not even thinking before he spoke.

  Riley laughed. “You must really want to drive me around, eh, Doctor?”

  “You can call me Donovan,” he replied, feeling his own face flush a bit with embarrassment.

  “Well, Donovan, I drove one of Jameson’s cars here. Scrappy is actually a very good passenger, aren’t you, boy?” He let out a low, quiet bark as if to reply that he was indeed a good passenger, and a good boy.

  “Can’t blame a guy for trying.” Donovan laughed. “It was nice to meet you again.” He extended his hand, which she politely took.

  “Thank you again for your help, and for the numerous offers of a ride.” She gave him a sweet smile. “Come on, Scrappy, I’m sure the doctor has actual sick patients to see. Let’s go.”

  Scrappy trotted over to Riley, who grabbed his leash. She let herself out of the exam room, but not before glancing back at Donovan, where she smiled again before she left. The door shut behind her and Donovan ran his hands through his thick, dark hair.

  Oh man, she’s adorable.

  8

  Riley

  “Thanks for embarrassing me, dog,” Riley muttered to him as she buckled his seat belt. Scrappy was big enough to sit in the front seat and be belted in like a regular person. She couldn’t believe he was only going to get bigger. He has to be almost as big as me.

  After making sure the dog was snug in his seat, Riley sat down in the driver’s seat and sighed before turning the car on. She drove so little, she had to psyche herself up to do it. Some people truly enjoyed driving, and going on road trips, but Riley preferred walking and taking public transit. When she left to take Scrappy to the vet, Bernard had offered to drive them, but she didn’t want him feeling like he was her manservant. His doting was stifling for someone who typically spent a tremendous amount of time alone.

  “Okay, let’s do this,” she said.

  Scrappy let out a reciprocal “woof” in reply.

  Riley chuckled and drove them back to Jameson’s house, where she’d made afternoon plans to go through some of his things.

  Later that day, Riley sat in Jameson’s office, rummaging through his desk drawers. Bernard had asked if she needed any help, but she explained she was just trying to figure out what needed to be kept and what should be filed away. The truth was, she was snooping, and while Bernard may have known what she was up to, he wasn’t interfering and left her to it. Scrappy, meanwhile, had parked himself on the chaise lounge under the window. A bit of sun shone through, and he stretched his gigantic body out like a human stretches in the mornings. With his toes hanging off the edge, he fell dead asleep on his back.

  Riley began by casually looking through Jameson’s book collection. On a giant wall behind the desk from about midway up the wall, all the way to the ceiling, were built-in bookshelves. She ran her hand across the spines gently, wondering if Jameson had read all of them. They were organized by theme and genre mostly, with the classics all together. Copies of Shakespeare, Bronte, and Fitzgerald sat side by side, and then there were business and reference books all neatly organized as well. He even had a set of philosophy books, the likes of which she hadn’t seen since college. Most of the books were hardbacks, although there were a few paperbacks scattered amongst the others.

  Once she’d perused the shelves, she decided to settle in and go through his desk. Technically, everything here belongs to me, so it's not really snooping, she said to herself as she opened the first drawer and peeked inside. Nothing interesting. Just some pens and blank paper, along with random office supplies, like paper clips and staples.

  The second drawer she tried to open was locked. She yanked on it harder, but it wouldn’t budge. Riley searched through the little boxes along the edge of the desk to see if any of them held the key to the drawer, but she found nothing but push pins, loose change, and more paper clips. A locked drawer tended to hold secrets and she decided if she couldn’t find the key, she’d break into it anyway.

  Riley glanced around to make sure Bernard was out of earshot, and she took a large, metal letter opener from the other drawer and jammed it into the space between the locked drawer and the desk itself. She managed to damage the wood around the lock just enough to pry it open. “Yes!” she congratulated herself quietly.

  She slid the drawer open quietly, pulling out a folder of photographs. At first, she didn’t recognize anyone in them, but soon she realized there was a picture of someone she knew better than anyone.

  A knock on the door startled her and she shoved the photographs back in the drawer. “Yes?” she called out, trying not to sound as shaken as she was.

  “Miss Maxwell, you have a visitor.” It was Bernard, but she wasn’t expecting any visitors. In fact, she wasn’t even sure she’d told Colette what was happening, or that she was in Port Henry. Making a mental note to call her best friend, she stood up from the desk.

  “Who is it?” she asked.

  “It’s me, uh, Donovan.” The doctor poked his head around the corner apprehensively.

  “Oh, hi, Dr. Hunter… Donovan,” Riley replied, surprised to see him.

  Scrappy peeled himself from his perch, stretched into downward dog, then trotted over to Donovan for head scratches.

  “I just wanted to come by and see how you and Scrappy here were doing,” he said, a bit of apprehension in his voice.

  Riley wanted to take the pictures but didn’t want anyone to see them, so she had no choice but to leave them in the now unlocked drawer. “That was very kind of you, but we’re both doing fine. As you can see, the king of the castle here is as spry as ever.” She nodded in the direction of the dog, who she was certain smirked at her. Can dogs smirk?

  “It certainly looks like he’s just fine.” Donovan shifted nervously in place, continuing to rub Scrappy’s head, much to the dog’s delight.

  “Um, would you like a drink or something?” She wasn’t quite sure of the protocol for guests who stopped by, since she wasn’t used to having any. Drinks seemed appropriate.

  “Sure, that would be great,” he replied. Donovan appeared to relax at the offer of drinks, and he followed Riley out to the patio. The sun had begun to set and the temperature was a cool seventy, perfect for sitting outside.

  “Is this okay?” she asked.

  “Yeah, this is great.”

  “Okay, I”ll be right back. Do you like vodka or beer? I know that we have both of those. I’m not really sure what else there is.”

  “A beer would be nice,” he replied.

  Riley walked off to the kitchen and grabbed two beers from the fridge. Bernard was sitting at the bar, reading a novel. “I would have brought those out for you, Riley.”

  “You enjoy your book, Bernard. You deserve to relax too. If Dr. Hunter decides to stay a while, maybe you could help me put some snacks together though? I’m not very good in the kitchen,” she asked.

  “It would be my pleasure.” The old man smiled. Riley truly didn’t want him waiting on her hand
and foot, but it seemed to trouble him she hadn’t given him anything to do, so snacks was a win-win.

  “Okay, awesome. Maybe in like, an hour?”

  “I’m on it,” he replied.

  Riley took the two beers out to the patio and handed one to Donovan. “None of these are my groceries, so I’m still kind of figuring out what we have here. Hope this is okay.”

  “It’s perfect, thank you.”

  Scrappy had settled himself next to Donovan, clearly realizing that is where the most attention would come from.

  “So, did you really stop by just to see how this big lug of a dog was doing?” Dancing around a point was never her forte, and she hadn’t planned on starting now. Might as well find out what this guy’s agenda was out of the gate.

  “I’m just being neighborly, and a good veterinarian,” he said with a grin. “And, yes, I wanted to come see you as well. I wanted to apologize for being so nosy about what your intentions were. I never even told you how sorry I was for your loss. You and Jameson must have been quite close for him to leave you with,” Donovan gestured his hands around the space, “… all this?”.

  Riley eyed Donovan from across the table that separated them. She didn’t have anyone to confide in, but she also didn’t know this guy at all. He was friends with that turd Gavin though. Even still, her half-smile was unavoidable. “Jameson and I knew each other and worked very closely together for the last eighteen months or so.”

  “So, you were work colleagues?” Donovan asked.

  “Sort of.”

  Donovan waited for her to say more and when she didn’t offer, he asked, “When was the last time you saw him?”

  “It was about a year ago. I did work for him from the city.” Riley wasn’t ready to discuss Jameson’s memoirs, they seemed too personal.

  “Oh, really? What do you do?”

  “I’m a writer, mostly. I was writing some things for him,” she offered, hoping he wouldn’t ask for more detail.

  “Jameson is… was, a particular man. You must be quite good at it.”

  The flattery was not lost on her, and Riley blushed a little. “I’m not bad.” She grinned. “So, Doctor, why don’t you tell me about this town of yours. What am I missing out on?”

  Donovan chuckled. “Well, the summer is just beginning here in the Port. The people watching is to die for, and there’s usually quite a few celebrities walking about. I’d say in about two weeks, people will start rolling in for the summer.”

  “I’d heard that, but I’ve never been here before.” She glanced out to the water. “Would you like to go for a walk? I haven’t been down to the water since I arrived yesterday, and I’d like to.”

  “Sure, that would be great.” Donovan set his bottle down on the table and stood up, to Scrappy’s dismay. His giant head had been resting on Donovan’s lap.

  “Do you know if I can take Scrappy out there without a leash? Will he run away?” she asked him.

  “He won’t run away, and his breed isn't particularly aggressive, so he should be fine.”

  “Come on, dog, let’s go!”

  Scrappy realized where they were going, and took off into a canter ahead of Donovan and Riley as they made their way down the path to the beach. Riley wanted to get away from the house, and out of range from Bernard so she could ask Donovan what he might know about Jameson and the secrets kept locked inside that house.

  9

  Donovan

  Riley and Donovan walked along the water for a bit, talking idly about Port Henry. Mostly, Donovan told her about some of his favorite things about living there, least of which was being by the water.

  “I feel like it has a calming effect. It can get a little wild out here with the fancy parties and whatnot, but out here on the beach, it’s different. The water soothes the soul, I think,” Donovan said wistfully before realizing how silly he must sound. “I just mean… everyone seems to chill out a little more on the beach, if that makes sense.” He stopped himself before he said anything else too ridiculous.

  Riley giggled, and agreed, nodding. “I do think there’s some peace in listening to the waves. I opened my window last night so I could hear them crashing on the beach in the distance. It helped me fall asleep in a new bed, that’s for sure.”

  “Let’s sit a while,” Donovan suggested.

  “Right here?” Riley glanced around. There were no chairs or anything to sit on.

  “Yep, right here. The sun is setting now. Let’s just chill out and watch,” he said, plopping down in the sand, then patted the spot next to him. “Give me your shoes.” They’d been walking shoeless for some time, carrying them. Donovan took the sandals from her and put them in a small pile with his canvas loafers.

  “This dog is crazy,” Riley said. Scrappy was prancing around in the sand, stopping every once in a while to chase a wave out, then run from the next one that rolled ashore.

  “He’s still a puppy. He’s surprisingly energetic for his breed, I’ll give you that,” Donovan said, chuckling. “Theoretically, he’ll calm down. But I’ll be honest. With that one, who knows?”

  They both laughed and watched the dog run around a bit more before he settled himself in the sand at their feet. Watching the sun set, they sat quietly for a while, enjoying the breeze and the fresh air.

  “Have you given any more thought to spending the summer here? I think you’d really like it.” Donovan broke the silence that had fallen.

  Riley continued to look out over the water which became harder to see as the daylight began to disappear. “I don’t have to go back right away, and I think there are some things I need to figure out about Jameson.”

  “What do you mean?” Donovan asked.

  “I thought that I knew him well, but I’m beginning to think the Jameson Prescott that I knew—the one who was my friend—was someone else altogether.”

  “That sounds ominous.” Donovan chuckled lightly.

  “I don’t know what to do with Scrappy or this house, that’s for sure. And I’m not entirely sure what else has become mine, so I need to go back to the city and figure some of that out, I think. Sooner rather than later.”

  Donovan wanted to beg her to stay. He couldn’t think of any good reason why a woman he just met should listen to him, other than if it was about the dog. “Well, I know that I said Scrappy is just fine, but I think we should keep an eye on him for at least a few days. Just to make sure he hasn’t ingested anything we didn’t know about.”

  “Do you think that’s possible?” Riley spun toward him.

  Realizing he may have gone slightly overboard about the dog’s condition, he decided to go with it anyway. “Well yeah, it’s definitely possible.” Please don’t strike me dead, he said to himself, apprehensively gazing up at the sky. Or the dog. I just like the girl and want her to stay longer.

  “Well, if that’s the case, we should stay a few more days for sure,” she replied. “I will probably need to find him a new home because he would be terribly unhappy in a city apartment, but until I figure that out, I have to make sure he’s taken care of.” She glanced over at the pup who had not clue he might need a new home. Donovan didn’t want to let that happen, and started to think of how he could entice her to stay, and to keep Scrappy.

  The two sat and chatted a bit longer before making their way back to the house, a much slower, worn-out Scrappy in tow. When they arrived back at the patio, a full spread of snacks was laid out on the low table where they’d been sitting, along with two fresh bottles of beer in a small bucket of ice. Bernard had definitely hooked them up.

  “You hungry?” Riley asked, waving at the food.

  “I could definitely eat.”

  Donovan returned home that night, wishing he could have stayed longer. If Riley hadn’t begun yawning, he might have. But he didn’t want to overstay his welcome and he’d planted the first seed toward getting her to remain in Port Henry. When she gave him a small goodnight kiss on the cheek, he was certain she lingered there longer t
han she had to. He wanted to court her as if it were the olden days, when you didn’t just meet a woman in a bar and take her home. Getting to know Riley was fun and Donovan couldn’t recall the last time he’d had that enjoyable of an evening that didn’t end in sex. As he lay in bed that night, he ran through their conversation in his head, trying to pluck out any detail that might be used to get her to stay.

  He needed to act quickly, and drastically. All he wanted was for her to commit to the summer so they could spend time together, get to know each other. Donovan couldn’t let her leave. As crazy as it sounded, something in his bones told him she was brought here to the Port -- to him -- for a reason and after the evening together, he was certain there was a part of her that felt it too.

  The next morning, Donovan woke up with a spring in his step. He had a plan, but it was a bold one. Something, a gut feeling, told him he should just go with it, and fate would follow. For the first time since summer had begun to approach, he didn’t look at it with apprehension. Instead, he was excited. The days of prowling for the ex-wives of the rich and famous to warm his bed were behind him. He needed someone like Riley, and the awareness of that fact was as clear as the morning on that spring day.

  Before going to work, Donovan stopped at a roadside stand and bought a bundle of wildflowers. He couldn’t very well show up empty-handed now. Not with what he had planned. It was quite early, and while he didn’t know if Riley was a morning person or a night owl, he suspected the former and he was about to find out.

  The Prescott house was only two miles from his own house and while his heart was sure of his next move, his head started to give him doubts. What if she thinks I’m insane? Maybe she wasn’t feeling the same connection. His confidence waned as he pulled in the driveway and he considered turning around and leaving, forgetting the whole plan. But when Riley opened the door and walked outside with Scrappy on a leash and their gazes met, it was do or die time.